Contents

Lore

Biography

Story

3rd bio

2nd bio

1st bio

The baleful revenant Mordekaiser is among the most terrifying and hateful spirits haunting the Shadow Isles. He has existed for countless centuries, shielded from true death by necromantic sorcery and the force of his own dark will. Those who dare face Mordekaiser in battle risk a horrific curse: he enslaves his victims’ souls to become instruments of destruction.

Mordekaiser was once mortal, a brutal warlord-king who ruled the lands of eastern Valoran long before the rise of Demacia or Noxus. He waded into battle bedecked in heavy iron armor and slaughtered all who opposed him, crushing them beneath his ensorcelled mace, Nightfall.

As hated as he was feared, his enemies finally rallied to end his dark reign. After a long and bloody day of battle, Mordekaiser met his fate standing atop a mountain of corpses, surrounded by his foes. He laughed even as he died, pierced by arrows, swords and spears, promising his killers that he would come back for them.

His body was hurled upon a immense pyre amid great celebration from his enemies. While the flames were unable to do more than blacken his armor, Mordekaiser’s body was reduced to charred bones.

The fires burned for days on end, but as they finally died down and the victors moved on, a coterie of sorcerers slunk forward and sifted through the ashes, gathering up Mordekaiser’s armor and bones. They bore them away in secret, and on a moonless night they laid the skeleton upon a rune-carved slab and enacted a spell of vile, necromantic sorcery. As their dark magicks reached a crescendo, a shadowy form appeared upon the slab. The deathly shade rose to its feet, leaving the skeleton behind.

It was a wraith formed of pure darkness, yet its eyes burned with malice. The fire-blackened pieces of armor slammed into place around the shadowy spirit, as if drawn to a powerful lodestone, and the sorcerers dropped to their knees before their risen master. They had been promised great power for their service, but had not foreseen how they were to be rewarded.

With newfound mastery over the necromantic arts, Mordekaiser gifted the sorcerers with undeath, trapping them between life and death. They became vile liches, living corpses cursed to serve him until the end of time.

Over the next decade Mordekaiser saw all those who had defied him slain. He cursed them into eternal servitude, drawing out their souls and forcing them to obey his undying will.

Having assumed the mantle of Iron Revenant, Mordekaiser’s nightmarish reign of darkness lasted many centuries. Several times he was seemingly slain during this period, yet always he returned, brought back by the power of his soul-bound liches.

Mordekaiser’s bones were key to his unholy reincarnation, and as the centuries rolled on he became increasingly paranoid about their safety. He constructed a monolithic fortress at the heart of his empire that came to be known as the Immortal Bastion. Locked away at the core of this epic stronghold he hid his remains.

The Immortal Bastion was eventually besieged by a concentrated alliance of tribes and warbands. During the siege, an unknown thief infiltrated the mighty fortress, bypassing its fiendish defenses to steal Mordekaiser’s skull. His skeleton needed to be complete in order for his resurrection to be enacted, yet fearful of their master’s wrath, his enslaved liches kept the theft a secret.

On the walls of the Immortal Bastion, countless enemies fell before Mordekaiser, yet it was not enough to stave off defeat. His fortress was overrun and he was dragged down by sheer weight of numbers. His deadly mace was torn from his grasp and great chains wrapped around his limbs. The booming of his laughter echoed through the darkness – he had no reason not to believe he would be reborn anew, as he had been many times before. The chains binding him were hitched to hulking Basilisks, and with a barked order the immense scaled beasts ripped him apart.

Mordekaiser’s skull was taken across the sea to the Blessed Isles, a land hidden in mist and legend. The wise adepts of that land knew of Mordekaiser, and of his weakness. They had stolen his skull in order to rid the world of his unholy presence, placing it in a vault deep beneath the ground, secured behind locks and magical wards. Mordekaiser’s servants were scattered to the corners of the world, seeking his lost skull, but were always unable to locate it. It seemed Mordekaiser’s reign was truly over.

Years rolled into decades, decades to centuries, until a cataclysm was unleashed upon the Blessed Isles. A king whose mind had been ruined by grief and madness unleashed a terrible spell that condemned the isles to darkness, turning them into a twisted realm of the undying – the Shadow Isles. During that great sorcerous explosion, the vaults securing Mordekaiser’s skull were torn asunder.

Drawn like moths to a flame, Mordekaiser’s liches made their way to the newly born Shadow Isles. They bore with them their master’s bones, and digging his skull from the ruins, were finally able to unleash him upon the world once more.

Mordekaiser has since carved out his own empire upon the Shadow Isles, enslaving a growing army of the dead. He looks down upon these newly formed undying spirits as a lesser breed, for he chose his path freely, while these others are merely lost souls. Nevertheless, he sees their use; they will be his foot-soldiers in the conflicts to come.

Unlike the lesser spirits, Mordekaiser is not bound by the Black Mist – he is too powerful for that – yet its baleful energy grants him considerable power. For now at least, the Shadow Isles serves as the perfect place to build his strength.

While he consolidates his power, and constantly obsesses over making his bones ever-more secure, Mordekaiser has begun to look across the seas, towards Valoran. He has set his sights on the empires and civilizations that have risen since his absence. In particular, his attention is drawn to the Immortal Bastion, that mighty fortress that now acts as the capital city of the upstart empire called Noxus.

The Black Mist coiled and twisted like a living creature as it rolled forward to encircle the isolated, grey-stoned castle.

A massive, armored figure walked within the darkness of the Black Mist. His heavy warplate gleamed like oil, and orbs of cruel witchfire burned within his horned helm.

Grass withered underfoot as the armored revenant marched towards the castle’s gatehouse. He could see movement on the walls. They knew death had come for them. His own name drifted on the wind, whispered in fear:

Mordekaiser.

Arrows sliced through the night. Several struck Mordekaiser, ricocheting from his armor. One sank into the gap between his helm and gorget, but his inexorable approach did not slow.

A heavy iron portcullis barred Mordekaiser’s advance. The revenant extended a gauntleted hand and made a wrenching motion in the air. The lattice ironwork screamed in protest as it was twisted out of shape before being hurled contemptuously aside, revealing the heavy oak gate beyond.

White hot warding runes burst to life upon the gate, forcing Mordekaiser back half a step. The Black Mist roiled around him, and it was possible now for the defenders to see other forms within it - hateful, shadowy specters that hungered for living souls.

Mordekaiser stepped forward, brandishing his immense spiked mace, Nightfall. A weapon of dark renown, thousands had fallen before it. With a powerful swing, he slammed the weapon into the oak gate.

The runes exploded, Mordekaiser’s dark sorcery overcoming the petty protective spells of his enemies. The gate smashed inwards, ripped off its hinges.

The Black Mist flowed through the breach, Mordekaiser striding within it.

The garrisoned soldiers and men-at-arms waited for him in the courtyard beyond. Weaklings all. His gaze swept over them as he sought a foe worthy of his attention. His undying gaze settled on a silver-clad knight that stepped out to meet him, sword drawn.

“Begone, revenant, or I shall see you banished,” said the knight. “This hamlet and its people are under my protection.”

Rising to this threat, a host of specters and translucent warriors manifested in the Black Mist behind their master.

“This one’s soul is mine,” Mordekaiser said, holding the eager spirits at bay. His voice was deep and sepulchral, the timbre of death itself.

Mordekaiser pointed, and a cone of malignant unlife burst towards the knight.

The knight’s armor shone brightly for a second, then returned to its normal, mundane form, leaving him unharmed by Mordekaiser’s necromantic sorcery.

“Demacian steel,” sneered Mordekaiser. “It will not save you.”

He stepped forward and brought his spiked mace down toward the knight’s skull. The strike was met with a two-handed parry, though the power of it forced the knight to his knees. Mordekaiser towered over him.

The knight spun away, avoiding Nightfall as it swung toward him in a lethal arc. He sidestepped and sank his blade deep into Mordekaiser’s side, biting through the banded links and chain. To a living man, it would have been a mortal blow, but to the armored behemoth, it was as nothing. Mordekaiser backhanded the knight across the side of his head, sending him reeling.

The Iron Revenant stepped in to end the fight, but the knight turned aside his strike with exquisite skill, and rammed the point of his blade into Mordekaiser’s chest with all his strength and weight.

With a wrench of metal, the blade punched through the breastplate above the heart. There was no resistance from within, as if the suit were hollow.

Mordekaiser grabbed the knight by the throat in one giant hand and lifted him off the ground.

“You thought you could protect these mortals,” said Mordekaiser. “But know that it will be you who slays them.”

He squeezed, tightening his grip on the knight’s throat. The mortal’s feet kicked in the air.

Mordekaiser watched closely, eyes burning, as the life drained from the knight. Finally, he dropped the lifeless corpse to the floor.

Mordekaiser knelt and placed a hand upon the dead knight’s chest. When the armored giant rose, he drew forth the shade of the dead warrior.

The spirit of the knight looked around it, horror writ in its spectral eyes.

“Now,” commanded Mordekaiser, knowing that the shade was powerless to resist him. “Kill them all.”

Mordekaiser is a being of pure, living agony on a mysterious dread quest. It is said that he was the first of the undead, existing before the Shadow Isles were a whispered threat. His true name and past lost to history, Mordekaiser is feared for his grim manipulation of pain –both his own, and that of others. Anguish fuels and sustains him, serving as his last connection to life, as well as his most effective weapon. In his enigmatic hunt, he's proven no one is safe, for even the most courageous souls have surrendered their secrets in his grasp.

One girl witnessed and survived an encounter with pain's paladin. Late one night, the young mage-in-training was awoken by the sound of her master's tortured screams. Overcoming her fear, she charged into the library to find it a shattered ruin. There, she saw a hulking figure clad in a suit of armor that seemed fused to his body. It was clear the grim intruder was looking for something, and was displeased with the results. At the center of the once-majestic chamber, the armored fiend clutched her teacher's broken form. She overheard her master's final words – that he would die before he would give up his secrets. Mordekaiser laughed and said that even death was no escape, then snapped the master's neck with a sharp crack. Moments later, the horrified girl witnessed her master's spirit torn from his body. As if under some dark compulsion, the shade began to reveal all to his torturer and executioner. The girl fled, living to tell her story – should Mordekaiser come for you, even death itself will not keep you from his iron reach.

During the most recent winter solstice – when no other night during the year is longer – a being like no other emerged from the forgotten alleyways of Noxus. Standing eight feet tall, and concealed within a razor-sharp armored shell, he came to be known only as Mordekaiser. The nature of what lies beneath his metallic carapace is a popular subject of speculation. Many allege that he is a mortal man with a heart that has hardened to iron. Others insist that he is a dark specimen of the undead. But there are some who whisper warnings that he is merely a foreshadowing of something terrible and unprecedented yet to come. Despite the public conjecture and curiosity, none have discovered what lies beneath his alloyed exterior. What is known is this: Mordekaiser arrived unannounced at the Institute one day and, with a rasp that crept ice up the spines of all within earshot, requested to join the League of Legends.

Upon glimpsing his fearful visage, most keep their distance, fortunately unaware that his touch bears a sinister scourge. Those who stumble within his grasp fall victim to incurable maladies. In fact, Mordekaiser seems mystically attuned to sickness, as if it feeds and comprises part of his chilling essence. He now stalks the slums of Noxus, drawn to the plague-ridden and diseased. However, there is something in his clever tactics, something in his noble stance, and something in the tone of his unearthly commands that has led many to believe that Mordekaiser is more than just a foot soldier. Some see the distinguishing characteristics of a general. While many have learned to accept the evidence of this unsettling possibility, a lingering question keeps them wary at the witching hour: If Mordekaiser is a general, what nightmarish legion lurks at his command?

"The common perception is that the encompassing armor protects him, I fear that – for the fragile time being – it actually protects us."

From the Shadow Isles comes a champion like no other. Standing eight feet tall, concealed within a razor-sharp armored shell is a creature known only as Mordekaiser. Some allege that he is a man, though none have actually seen what lies within the plates that encompass him. There are those who posit that he isn't a living being, but rather a particularly dark specimen of the undead rumored to infest his distant homeland - but such rumors are surely merely the ramblings of the paranoid or the whispers of the insane. What is known is this: Mordekaiser arrived unannounced at the Institute one day and, with the rasp of an echoing sepulcher, requested to join the League of Legends.

As if his fearful visage doesn't disturb enough, his touch bears a sinister plague. Those unfortunate enough to be caught within his grasp fall victim to incurable maladies. In fact, Mordekaiser seems mystically connected to sickness, as if it feeds and comprises part of his chilling essence. He has been seen stalking the slums of Noxus, drawn to the plague-ridden and diseased. However, there is something in his clever tactics, something in his noble stance, something in the tone of his unearthly commands that has led many to believe that Mordekaiser is more than just a foot soldier. Some see the distinguishing characteristics of a general. While many have learned to accept this unsettling possibility, a lingering question keeps them uneasily awake at the witching hour - If Mordekaiser is a general, what nightmarish army lurks at his command?

"The common perception is that the encompassing armor protects him, I fear that – for the fragile time being – it actually protects us."

v6.1Shield takes longer to decay. W is not castable on minions. R gives Mordekaiser's attack damage, and does more damage over time.

Following up our changes in 5.23, these are similarly focused on cementing Mordekaiser's pattern as a slow but terrifying Juggernaut (capital J). Weakening ability power builds in favor of more hybrid ones is the name of the game, favoring sustained threat over time instead of '1-shot comboing your soul into pieces.' Reverting some of his shield decay and W's ally-target functionality, Mordekaiser should find himself able to pick fights while solo or duo to keep on shredding.

Passive - Iron Man

DELAY ON SHIELD DECAY :[1 second]⇒ 1.5 seconds

W - Harvesters of Sorrow

now with more sorrow Can now be cast on allied minions (melee and caster minions have smaller rings)

TEMPORARY HARVESTERS : Effect now ends if Mordekaiser or his ally dies

Oh Mordekaiser. Perhaps one of the more contentious champions in League, we're taking another pass at him to make his combat pattern more aligned with a Juggernaut and a less spiky, snowbally experience overall.

We've talked about it before, but here's the recap: as a Juggernaut, you trade mobility for high sustained damage, becoming a walking battering ram. If you (or your team) figure out how to get you into position, you'll wreck faces. Fail to do that and you'll flail around without accomplishing much. For the most part, Mordekaiser actually holds up - it's the 'sustained damage' bit that isn't as smooth as we'd like it to be, leading to those flash Q one-shots that don't leave much to the imagination.

Another part of these changes is making Mordekaiser someone we can support long-term, which is where the dragon and E changes come in. He doesn't seem to be running rampant in preseason, but doing these changes now can help push Morde to a healthier spot, where he becomes a strategic pick for specific purposes, rather than a 100% pick/ban at some world tournament (sorry about that).

EXPONENTIAL SCALING Successive hits no longer deal exponentially higher damage (1-3-9). Instead, the first and second hit deal equal damage (slightly less than the old second hit) with the third hit dealing double damage.

This one's pretty simple. The experience sharing mechanic's been vital for Mordekaiser's success in a duo lane but the amount's clearly off - turning what was intended to help him survive against his ranged oppressors into something that only serves to further snowball Mordekaisers that get ahead. We're pulling back to strike a balance, seeing if we can maintain Mordekaiser as a viable pick without becoming the mandatory dragonlord he is at present.

General

MUCH BETTER THAN LORD OF DEATH : Title changed from [the Master of Metal]⇒ the Iron Revenant. Thanks to NA summoner Veraska for the suggestion!

W - Harvesters of Sorrow

PENALTY FOR SHARING EXPERIENCE ON KILL :[0%]⇒ 50%

R - Children of the Grave

BUGFIX : Jungle monsters no longer ignore Mordekaiser's Dragon ghost

v5.18Base stats down early game. W can now be self-cast, has a health cost, but the damage no longer overlaps with his ally. Healing is increased vs. champions, but worse vs. minions.

Perhaps the most notorious of the Juggernauts, Mordekaiser’s problems heading into 5.18 are twofold - as a duo laner, Mord’s sustain and waveclear give even his toughest opponents little-to-no window to punish his lack of range. On the flipside, solo-lane Mordekaiser’s lack of sustain makes him underperform when under pressure, folding to common lane freezes or jungler intervention.

The changes below are aimed at bringing this disparity closer together for Mordekaisers of all flavors. Attacking the effectiveness of Harvesters’ zone play means duo lane Mord’s healing less, dealing less damage, and generating less shield for those early lane-trades and all-ins that slant heavily in his favor. Letting Morde self-cast the skill should give him some more punch back in solo lane, but, for this patch, we’re more focused on seeing how it all plays out before assessing our next move.

Afraid of divers and assassins? Is your team stacked to the brim with physical damage? Have a penchant for going all-in with your support? Look no further - Mordekaiser’s one of our oldest champions, yet in that time he’s never firmly latched onto a particular role or position that fits him best. He’s just sort of always there, whacking dudes with his mace and stealing their souls. We think that part’s pretty cool, so we’re cranking his damage potential to the skies while optimizing him as the farming half in a duo-lane. We’ll give you a sec to re-read that last bit.

While still serviceable in a solo lane, Mordekaiser’s potential is truly unlocked when he has a buddy to smack folks around with. This doesn’t mean you’ll be building like a traditional marksman would (though feel free to follow your dreams, we’re not here to judge) - thanks to his experience bonus killing minions and Mace of Spades’ earth-shattering damage output, Mord has to worry far less about itemizing traditionally; opting to think less of the item system as ‘which of these give me the most damage’ and instead ‘If i’m guaranteed to wreck anyone i get close to, what items help me get the speed and stickiness to reach them?’

Mordekaiser’s update may not be for everyone, but his ability to shake up a game is undeniable. Toss in the fact that he can now steal the Dragon’s soul as a sieging tool, and bottom-lane Mord sounds more like A Real Thing and less like a Siv HD video. We’ll let y’all feel out how he plays in a duo lane, but don’t be afraid if you never want to go back to traditional lanes again.

Q - Mace of SpadesReworked. Mordekaiser’s next three hits are empowered. Each deals 2-3x the last by spell rank, up to a billion damage.

COST : 20/23/26/29/32 health

COOLDOWN : 10/8.5/7/5.5/4 seconds

3-HIT ACTIVE Now empowers Mordekaiser's next 3 attacks. Each attack deals 2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3 times the previous attack's damage (so if your first attack does 100 damage, the second deals 300, and the third deals 900 damage).

W - Harvesters of SorrowMordekaiser and Target allied champion gain 75 Movement Speed while moving toward one another. When close to one another, both deal magic damage to nearby enemies over 4 seconds. Mordekaiser no longer splits experience for any lane minions he kills.

I DON'T HAVE A JOKE FOR THIS Mordekaiser now receives full experience from any lane minion he kills

No cost :

COOLDOWN : 12/11/10/9/8 seconds

DAMAGE : 140/180/220/260/300 over 4 seconds.

AFFLICTION FOREVER : At the end of Harvester’s duration (or when Mordekaiser reactivates it), he deals 50/70/90/110/130 damage to all nearby enemies, healing both Mord and his ally for the damage dealt.

METALLIC MASTERY : Both Harvesters of Sorrow’s DoT and its detonation can overlap, dealing damage twice to enemies hit by Mordekaiser and his ally

SOUL SAVANT :[Reduction]⇒ Mordekaiser can cast Harvesters of Sorrow on his enslaved soul

E - Siphon of DestructionDeals much less damage and scales with total Attack Damage in addition to Ability Power. Now grants a bunch of shield on champion hits.

"The last time we visited the Master of Metal, we changed Creeping Death to be all about bringing people together (so you could crush your opponents and command their souls). We're adding some improvements this patch to benefit Mordekaiser and all of his murder-buddies when engaging in their favorite pastime."

W - Creeping Death

CAN'T STOP THE ROCK : Mordekaiser can now move while casting Creeping Death (previously would be instant when cast on self, but stopped a quarter second to cast on allies)

MISERY LOVES COMPANY : Now automatically targets the nearest Allied champion if self-cast

v5.4Mordekaiser's health costs are down for Q and W. Q gives Morde a range bonus for the empowered hit. W got the Blood Boil treatment, where it buffs both Mordekaiser and his buddy he casts it on. Also, Morde and his buffed buddy get bonus movement speed when moving toward each other. Mordekaiser's ghost gives him bonus health and ability power, rather than attack damage and ability power. Ghosts also get a flat attack damage bonus, as opposed to a portion of Mordekaiser's bonus stats.

It's no secret we've long considered Mordekaiser a thematically confused champion out the gate. Visually speaking, this guy's a walking, talking suit of armor with a giant mace. If that doesn't say scrappy fighter, we're not entirely sure what does. That said, Morde's found far more success in the present game as a bursty AP mage, picking up an early Deathfire Grasp to blow up and, subsequently, convert enemy marksmen into their team's worst nightmare.

So what's all this mean? Well, as customer numero uno for DFG (he actually might have been second with Veigar leading the way, but we're not ones to get in the way of a good reference) we didn't want to just take away Mordekaiser's core build without any form of compensation (although as we mentioned in the patch 5.2 foreword, the results have been a little off of expectation). We also wanted to take this opportunity to try tying Mordekaiser and his thematic identity a little closer together (scrappy tank man!), but when we finally arrived at that world, we realized it wasn't a very exciting one.

And here we are now.

These changes aren't going to solve Morde's identity crisis in the present, but we did find a few ways to clean up his ghostly interactions so he can get the most out of his exploitative ways. Additionally, we really liked the new Creeping Death 'magnet' mechanic we were testing out with fighter Mordekaiser, so we figured we could give some extra utility love when he's hunting high priority targets with a dive buddy. So, once again: not a holistic solution but one we felt was better at preserving Mordekaiser's unique identity.

"We're continuing our comprehensive pass at the game's older character textures. As with previous installments, our goal is to improve parity with newer releases and make sure everybody looks at home on the newly-updated Rift. "

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